Northern Lights

Rating:
Summary: Didn't Care to Finish
Review: As a big fan of Ms. Roberts and a former resident of Alaska I was excited to hear that "Northern Lights" was coming out. Unfortunatly I got stuck about 1/2 way through the book and just couldn't make myself finish it. I didn't care who was killing of the townspeole and the heroine's family members including herself made me wonder what was in the water supply of the fictional Lunacy. Wait till paperback, or rent it at your local library.

Rating:
Summary: Goodbye Nora!!
Review: I just finished listening to the book on tape called "Birthright". I listened to this book before I listened to the other. The female lead characters were so much alike, I forgot which book I was listening to. I am a big time feminist but let me tell you these women she's writing about simply have penis envy. The writing is good. Don't get me wrong. That's why I gave it four stars. These last few women in her books don't have a soul. Not even a rabid dog would want to get anywhere near them. I don't mind a sexually liberated woman at all but these women she has been writing about have the morals of alley cats and they certainly have no respect for the men they are sleeping with. But they don't have respect for anybody period. Not their feelings. They are truely depressed, screwed up people. I have worked with the types of women she is writing about these days. I read fiction to escape the awful days I have at the hands of these types of individuals.

I gave up on Danielle Steel along time ago because she made her men too mushy and not at all believable. I gave up on Janet Dailey because she killed off great people that didn't deserve to be killed off. I gave up on Jayne Ann Krentz because she wore out the "crazy aunt" line. And, now I say goodbye to Nora. Unless I read otherwise, I have to assume she will continue on with these characters--The last three have been this way and I see a trend (I, for one, don't like). I have her old books and will always cherish them. She is a good writer. I wish she wouldn't continue with so many of these tiresome, boring individuals. I don't understand the men chasing after these women, either. Go find yourself someone nice to love.

Rating:
Summary: A different read from Nora Roberts
Review: I purchased this book, finished it, then read the reviews. I'm glad I did. I do enjoy reading the reviews and base some of my purchases on them.

While it did take several pages before I got into the story -because this book was different from many of the stories NR writes. That's what I liked about it.

While I've read many of NR books, sometimes they can be pretty much the same. I've liked them never-the-less. So much so, that I will continue to read her books as they come out.

I hope NR continues to write more books like this one. It was a good read, what a reader wants in a book. Something different from a favored author.

Rating:
Summary: one of the better ones
Review: I really enjoyed this book, I was traveling in the snow and the book made my adventure better. I read over a christmas vacation and was very entertained. I've never read a book based in Alaska and liked reading about the people in the book. I say one of her better ones.

Rating:
Summary: Northern Exposure?
Review: Ignatious (Nate) Burke was a detective in Baltimore. He went into a deep depression when he was shot and his partner was killed. He has accepted a job as police chief of Lunacy, Alaska.

Maggie GAlloway is a bush pilot in Lunacy. Raised by her mom, the town [...], who owns the Lodge, she is very independent. I found her unlikeable at first. Even later in the book I had very little connection with her character.

The beginning of the story is slow. It reminds me alot of the TV series Northern Exposure. There are some weird and wacky characters.

Finally the real story begins when Maggie's father is found murdered in an ice cave on the mountain. Everyone thought he had left her mother and her 16 years earlier. Trying to keep you in the dark about who was climbing with her father and murdered him doesn't seem to work very well. I will say that it was the one I thought, and wanted it to be. The book seemed alittle long to me and I just did not like most of the characters. They were not people I could identify with. So it was hard to feel compassionate. She has written much better books.

Rating:
Summary: Not Her Best
Review: Northern Lights isn't particularly Ms. Roberts' best, but it was an engaging romance mystery. Zany plot, interesting and well developed characters and exciting exit. A 3.5 on the scale. Also, read LUST OF THE FLESH by Beverly Rolyat. It's a different type read that is compelling, riveting, pageturning, jaw-dropping novel. The district attorney gets caught up in a web of destruction and deceit, lies, lust, romance, betrayal, murder, mystery, suspense and sex galore! Is he really the biological father of his wife's sexually promiscuous teenage daughter's infant son? Or has he been set up? An enlightening read through and through. Happy reading!

Rating:
Summary: Nora Roberts has another bestseller to add to her collection
Review: NORTHERN LIGHTS, Nora Roberts's latest novel, is set in Lunacy, Alaska, which has a population count of 506. The people in this town are quite unique; if a storm hits the area, Lunacy shuts down until the bad weather stops. This thought process is alien to one of the main characters, Nate Burke. Nate is a police officer from Baltimore who begins a job in Lunacy as the town's Chief of Police. He is hoping that the far-off setting will give him the space he needs to recover from the death of his partner while in the line of duty; he is haunted by memories of this incident.

Nate is immediately drawn to Meg Galloway, an independent pilot who has her own set of rules when it comes to men. Complicating matters is Meg's mother Charlene, who has her eyes (and hands) on Nate while he stays in her lodge. Nate tries to dissuade Charlene (in a gentlemanly manner) while working hard to get closer to Meg. Roberts creates a realistic romance between Nate and Meg, portraying two people who are drawn to each other from their very first meeting.

The minor characters in this novel are also interesting: Peach, the dispatcher who makes cinnamon buns; Professor, the man who always carries around a copy of a Henry James book; the Mackie brothers, who have problems with alcohol and their tempers; and Hopp, the woman who became Mayor of Lunacy after her husband died while playing in a hockey game.

In addition to the characters, setting plays a central role in this story. The harsh weather adds to the isolation that Nate and Meg experience. The cold symbolizes the distance that they initially keep from each other, while the eventual warmth between the two represents the heat that is so essential to survival while facing Lunacy's harsh elements.

NORTHERN LIGHTS is not just a romance, however; elements of mystery and drama are present throughout. There is a daring mountain rescue, a murder, and the whole psychological process of Nate dealing with his partner's death.

Nora Roberts has written many books throughout her career, and she has an impeccable talent for writing strong characters who readers care about. NORTHERN LIGHTS is no different; Roberts undoubtedly has another bestseller to add to her growing collection.

--- Reviewed by Melissa A. Palmer

Rating:
Summary: A Frozen Body in the Frozen North makes for a Super Mystery
Review: One bad night Baltimore homicide detective Nate Burke's best friend and partner was killed and Nate sinks into grief and despair. When it becomes too much for him to take anymore, he moves to Lunacy, Alaska, a small and isolated town populated by 506 colorful characters, well 507 with Nate. Nate has taken the job of police chief in a place about as far away from his past life as possible.

It's not long before he meets and falls in love with Meg Galloway, a no holds barred, feisty bush pilot. So when her father who has been missing for sixteen cold years is found frozen with an axe in his chest, he wants to find out who did it? However there are secrets held by some of those in the town and they want the past to stay buried. But Nate isn't one to buckle under and he decides to conduct his own investigation. This does not sit well with someone and soon Nate finds his position and new life in jeopardy. And now Meg needs protecting and Nate is just the man for the job.

Nora Roberts never fails to deliver. Action, suspense and beautiful description. I swear, you'd almost believe you were in Lunacy, Alaska, so well does she tell her tale. The only thing that kept me rooted in reality was the nice covers pulled up to my chin as I read away in a warm bedroom. Ms. Roberts gets right to the centre of your soul when she writes. She pulls you right in.

Rating:
Summary: This book won't stop me from reading more Nora Roberst
Review: This was the first Nora Roberts book I ever read, and the only thing that bothered me was that it seemed like nothing happened until 250 pages into the book when they found the body. I enjoy some background and build up to the plot climax, but good heavens, enough already!

I will definately try another one of her books, but maybe one not so long where the action takes off right from the beginning.

Rating:
Summary: A little disappointed.
Review: While Nora Roberts maintained her ability to write brilliantly, she fell short this time in the characterization of her heroine. Sadly, because the woman was not as likable as past characters I was unable to really be drawn into the story. I loved the Nate Burke character, but the mother/daughter team left me completely cold. I felt like Nate was getting the shaft as far as quality of woman and that was disappointing. There are very few Nora Roberts books that I do not own, this is one of them. I checked it out of the library (which is a rare thing for me to do, I usually just buy), read it and was glad that I had not bought it instantly, as is my normal response to anything written by Nora Roberts. The writing did not fall flat, the two of the characters did, one of them a main character.